Zero the Hero: Now and Forever
by MagicAlexia
Summary: What really happened before Jack and Sally's song, after the nightmare before Christmas? And was Zero really as innocent as he seemed? Read to find out!


The moonlit graveyard was as lonely as ever, but Jack pushed these thoughts aside. He was the Pumpkin king! "I AM the Pumpkin King!" He declared, but the words still carried a certain emptiness, and they were pitifully affirmed by the moans and bone rattling of the long dead corpses below. His little ghost dog zero, attracted by the noises, flew out of his kennel to join him. "Ah, my loyal companion," Jack sighed, gazing into his translucent face which seemed as blissfully happy and ignorant of his suffering as ever. "What are we going to do now, eh?" Jack felt his long bone limbs give way and he slumped, defeated, next to his ghost dog. Now Zero had been watching his master for quite some time now, and he knew that something wasn't right. Jack's skeleton head seemed whiter than ever and his empty eye sockets looked like bottomless black pools of despair. He looked terrifying, in fact - but not in the good way. Zero began to whine and he used his glowing nose to roll a threatening looking pumpkin towards Jack. Slowly, the skeletal hand grasped the pumpkin. "Well? What do you want me to do with this?" He inquired. Suddenly, Zero looked delighted. His nose shone brighter than ever, his ghostly eyes were filled with some peculiar light and his tail wagged as he floated up and down. He started to bark, and Jack noticed that he was watching the pumpkin. He threw the pumpkin off then, into the mist beyond. Maybe Zero wanted to play catch? Surely enough, Zero dashed off and returned with the pumpkin, his eyes shining with delight. Jack threw it for him again and again and again, perhaps hoping that this pointless activity and watching Zero's enthusiasm might somehow revive his deader than ever spirits. Once more, the pumpkin flew and Zero vanished into the fog, but Jack waited for a while, and this time, they didn't return. What on earth could be going on?

Jack's bones creaked as he heaved himself up again. "Zero!" He called out. "Zero?" But there was no response. Eventually however, Jack encountered a large tombstone and just behind it, the glowing of Zero's nose was visible. He folded his arms, exasperated, and walked towards his dog. "Zero! What have I told you about-" Suddenly, Jack was cut off, for right before his eyes he was sure he could see the loveliest inhabitant of Halloween Town before him. She was sitting on the ground, as if she had fallen, the pumpkin at her feet as she stitched one of her limbs back on to herself, and Zero was trying to lick her wound - it was Sally. "Oh no!" Jack exclaimed. "That pumpkin... It didn't hit you, did it?" Sally looked up calmly, and Jack felt as if his cool exterior that he usually wore around others was crumbling away. "I can explain -" He stammered. "I was feeling rather blue, actually, when Zero came up and he wanted to play fetch! I didn't even know you were here, really."

"It's my own fault," Sally spoke softly as she finished the final stitch on her arm. "I must confess I followed you. I was feeling so sorry that Christmas didn't exactly... Work. I know how much you wanted it to." She got to her feet uneasily. "Actually, I have another confession." Jack was distracted momentarily by Zero's innocent eyes, darting back and forth between them, an ecstatic smile on his face. Could it be that he had _planned_ forthis to happen?

"Yes?" Jack asked, back to reality suddenly. "What... Is the confession?" Sally blinked and looked down, and Jack was sure that he could even see a touch of pink enter her lifeless cheeks. This was very... strange. The empty feeling in Jack's bones seemed to be dissolving, and he didn't know how or why. It was that same feeling he had in Christmas town! The same feeling that surrounded everything to do with Christmas, which he had so obsessively studied and experimented on, all in vain. Whatever it was, it was certainly explainable. As Jack realized how long he had been waiting for Sally's reply, he noticed that she had started to look ashamed.

"I should not be saying this," She began at last. "To anyone in Halloween Town, let alone to you, the Pumpkin King!" Jack's eyes narrowed as he watched her. "But I must tell the truth, and the truth is... Ever since I first saw you, my unbeating heart has yearned for you more than anyone, or anything. I _love _you, Jack Skellington. But now you must forget this, as I'm sure you will." Jack's mouth was open, and he was stunned. He could not utter a word to Sally, not yet, however much he might have wanted to. "We must part." Sally finished, in barely a whisper. As she walked past him, her footsteps crunching in the snow, Jack's brain was completely stunned by an overwhelming epiphany. Sally picked up a wilted flower on her way past. Jack's bones felt as though they might be shaking, revived by this strange new energy. No more were they empty, and no more did he feel alone! For the first time since his first visit to Christmas town he felt the warmth coming from inside, now stronger than ever. So _this _was the magic and mystery of Christmas? _This_ was what he had been searching for? It was love! And it was love he had been craving all along, all this time. But no longer would he feel dissatisfied with life (or rather, death) and his part to play in it. Jack knew he would make sure of this as he moved to catch up with Sally, the puppet girl mournfully yet gracefully making her way up the spiral, snow covered hill. Clearing his throat, he began to sing, hoping to win her back.

"My dearest friend, if you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side, where we can gaze into the stars..." Jack walked up the hill towards his love, following her footsteps in the snow, and his heart felt like it was soaring as he heard Sally sing with him.  
"And sit together, now and forever. For it is plain as anyone can see... we're simply meant to be..." They hugged and kissed under the moonlight, and Jack felt Christmas had come to Halloween Town at last, for Christmas was nothing without love. Meanwhile Zero had been watching, silently, all along. He was not needed anymore, he knew. He had made his master truly happy, once and for all now that he had followed his plan, and his work here was done. With a wag of his tail and a sparkle in his eyes, he flew up into the deep night sky, flying right up until he reached the afterlife where he could finally rest in peace. All that he left behind was a bright, twinkling star that shone in the night sky in remembrance of him, and this would serve to guide Jack and Sally in their new lives - now and forever.


End file.
